Many years ago. Sitting on the grass in the garden on a sunny day, glanced away from baby and when I looked back was shocked to see a thick metal arrow about six inches long, embedded in the grass less than an inch from his back (I am really NOT exaggerating here - any closer and it would have travelled down his spine through the back of his neck). There had been no sound, this had happened in complete silence. I picked him up and ran to the safety of indoors. Didn’t know what to do, I was so young and shy and stupid. Looked out minutes later and the bolt had gone.
Later bumped into my neighbour whose husband was a police inspector, so I told her, hoping for advice. She was very dismissive, telling me one of her teenage sons had bought a crossbow, she had no more to say on the matter and I guess her husband made sure there’d be no repeat.
The scenario haunts me to this day. This was before the internet. How much easier now for a dopey teenager to get hold of one of these things, never mind someone intending to do harm.
My baby is now a grown man, as it happens he has a shotgun licence, for clay pigeon shooting. Before this was granted he was visited by police, who contacted his GP, and he has to comply with strict and sensible safety procedures. If there’s an incident at his house armed police would attend.
This, at the very least, is where we should be on crossbow use and ownership.